Chapter 78: Devotion
Killian’s POV
The morning after the trial was supposed to mark the beginning of peace, especially for Ruby Lucienne.
How wrong I was.
When I stepped into her chamber, expecting to find her lounging lazily in bed with that teasing smile of hers, I was instead met with a heartbreaking sight. She was curled up, trembling. Her sheets were drenched in sweat, her face deathly pale, and as I approached, her lips parted with ragged breaths before she lurched forward, vomiting violently into the basin beside her bed.
“K–Killian? I’m sorry you have to see this.”
Ruby hurriedly signaled for the maid to fetch a clean cloth and wiped her mouth. I stood there like a complete fool, stunned. “Since when? Why didn’t you tell me you were sick, Ruby?”
Her eyes widened. “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It only just-”
“And none of you thought to report this to me immediately?!” I roared.
My anger erupted unchecked. The servants dropped to their knees, begging for forgiveness, while Ruby, ever the selfless woman, shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.
“It’s not their fault, Killian. Truly. Please don’t punish them,” she pleaded hopelesses.
I exhaled sharply, running a frustrated hand through my hair. I forced myself to reel in my emotions before they spiraled further out of control. Ignoring the servants, I strode to her bedside and sat at the edge of the mattress.
“It seems I can’t take my eyes off you for even a moment, can I?”
She turned her face away. Just as she was about to retort, a coughing fit racked her fragile frame. I immediately ordered one of the servants to summon a healer from the camp. A sharp, unfamiliar pain twisted in my gut. Fear. Anxiety. Worry. All the emotions that dragged me into the depths of worst–case scenarios.
I rubbed soothing circles along her back while channeling my calming magic into her.
“Hold on. The healer is on their way,” I said gently.
She nodded weakly, offering no complaints as I pulled her close against my chest. When she mumbled an apology for staining my clothes with her tears and traces of sickness, I silenced her with a stern look.
Right now, my only concern was Ruby.
This was the second time I had seen her so powerless–and this time, it was worse than before.
In an instant, the entire castle was thrown into chaos. I barked out orders for fresh fabrics and new basins to be brought immediately. Every task I had planned for the day was completely discarded as I remained by her side, refusing to leave, even when Leonidas reminded me of the territories that required my attention.
Middle finger to them.
Moments later, two healers arrived, both requesting permission to examine Ruby and diagnose her illness.
“Fix her,” I growled as one of them knelt beside her, their hands trembling as they checked Ruby’s pulse. “If you fail to find any indication of what’s wrong with her, your life will be the price.”
The first healer worked swiftly, clearly terrified by the very real threat in my voice. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, his fingers trembling as he prepared a potion and applied a cooling salve to her temples. But nothing eased her fever. The second healer meticulously took notes on a clipboard, analyzing every symptom Ruby displayed. The two of them worked in tandem, desperately trying to find a way to heal her.
As I watched them move, I felt trapped, useless. A beast unable to tear apart the true enemy before me: the illness that was draining the fire from Ruby’s eyes. For a fleeting moment, I regretted not studying medicine at the Magical Tower.
The time I had given the healers was running out. My unease grew stronger with every passing second. Despite the potions and countless spells, Ruby still showed no signs of improvement. When her fever spiked again, I nearly lost my mind.
“Why isn’t she getting better?! Explain!”
My voice was death itself, laced with an edge that sent shivers down the hellers‘ spines.
Successfully unlocked!
“M–My King, this is a rare virus, worsened by exhaustion and stress one of them stammered. “I need more time to develop a stronger antidote-”
“TIME?!”
The very walls of my castle seemed to tremble beneath the force of my fury. I seized the fool by the collar and slammed
1/3
Chapter 78: Devotion
him against the chamber wall.
“I will give you one final chance. You have 24 hours. Do whatever it takes. If she gets worse-
My claws extended, glinting with deadly promise.
“You will not live to see the next sunrise.”
The healer nodded frantically, his face as pale as a corpse. Without wasting another second, he rushed off to gather supplies and return to the camp to craft a new remedy. Meanwhile, the remaining healer stayed behind to stabilize Ruby’s heartbeat and soothe the fever burning through her body.
I sat back down beside Ruby, carefully sweeping the damp strands of hair from her sweat–laden forehead. Seeing her like this, helpless and fragile, gnawed at something deep within me. She was never meant to be like this. She should be grinning at me, challenging me, biting back with grumpy words and an even sharper mind.
“Killian… I’ll be fine, trust me.”
I took her small hand in mine, pressing a kiss to her wrist without the slightest hesitation.
“I’ll believe it when I see proof.”
She let out a raspy chuckle. “That’s just like you”
Minutes passed, filled with my futile attempts to distract her from the aches tormenting her body and the pounding in her head. Eventually, exhaustion won, and she drifted into sleep.
“Your Majesty.”
The healer approached, bowing low before speaking. “I increased Lady Ruby’s sleeping potion dosage. It should allow her to regain some strength while we work on a cure.”
“I appreciate it, healer.”
The servants had returned to their stations, the healer had left to join his partner in research, and I had driven away any family member who dared to pester me with matters of the court. I remained faithfully at her side until the sun was swallowed by the embrace of the moon.
I dragged a chair closer to her bed, sitting vigil beside her. At some point, I must have succumbed to exhaustion because the next thing I knew, a heart–wrenching whimper jolted me awake.
Ruby thrashed against the sheets, her face twisted in terror, her fingers clutching the fabric so tightly that her nails threatened to tear through it.
“N–No… don’t-”
Her sobs broke through the air, and my chest tightened painfully.
“Ruby… hey.”
I was beside her in an instant, grasping her wrist before she could hurt herself.
“Wake up, love. You’re safe,” I whispered into her ear. “It’s me. Killian. Come on, it was just a nightmare.”
She jolted awake, her eyelids finally fluttering open, but those deep ocean–blue eyes of hers were still lost in the horrors of her dream. It took more whispered reassurances, more soothing words to pull her from the fog of that nightmare, and when she finally broke free, her gaze landed on me with such palpable relief that I almost despised myself for not waking up sooner.
“Killian? You… you’re here?”
“Yes, Ruby.” I squeezed her hand, letting my warmth seep into her chilled skin. “It’s okay. You’re safe. No one will touch you.” ‘And if they try, I will bury them to the core of the earth, I thought grimly.
She exhaled shakily, her fingers clinging to mine as if I were the only thing anchoring her to reality. And maybe, at that moment, I was. I saw it in the way her shoulders relaxed, in the way her breathing slowly steadied.
If someone had told me that one day, King Killian would tend to the sick and tolerate being vomited on, I would have kicked them off a cliff. And yet, here I was–completely unbothered by it.
A soft sigh slipped from her lips as her delicate fingers traced over my knuckles, her touch featherlight.
“You shouldn’t have stayed with me all night, Killian.” Her pale face scrunched in disapproval. “You’re a king, remember?”
“I do what I want,” I scoffed, masking my true intentions.
“You should be ruling, not wasting your time taking care of a sick woman.” She chuck by a cough.
weakly, though it was interrupted
I shot her an unimpressed look. “Ruling means nothing if you’re not here to witness it. Didn’t you want to see the chaos I create?”
Chapter 78: Devotion
She blinked up at me, and for a fleeting second, the faintest blush dusted her pale cheeks.
“That… was surprisingly sweet. And little terrifying.”
“Stop talking nonsense, little wolf. Go back to sleep.”
Now, I was already on the bed beside her. My fingers combed through her hair, and sometimes, I pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head. With a soft hum, Ruby let exhaustion pull her under once more.
But this time, there were no nightmares.
And I stayed by her side all night, refusing to let go.
口
Subscribed
